Probably a stupid question as I suspect I just want to spend money, but with my the upcoming Dreaming Tour, which will be a mix of bitumen and other "roads" and around 5,000 km in lenght, I am reviewing my tyre options.

Currently I have a set of Schwalbe Marathon Cross tyres which I used on the Esperance to Perth tour. These tyres have done 1,642 km and will probably do another 1,000 km before the big one.

So the question is do I fit a new set of Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Evolution the successor to the Marathon XR for the tour and relegate the Marathon Cross tyres to Extrawheel trailer duties or stick to my Schwalbe Marathon Cross tyres and just get a tyre for the trailer? Ideally I don't want to have to replace a set of tyres on the tour.

The other advantage with the Mondial is that I can get them in 47-622 or 42-622. 47-622 might be pushing the amount of clearance I have with my SKS Chromoplastic P50 mudguards which are for 38 - 45 mm tyres. Will 2 mm make that much difference?

I'd be less concerned about wear on the Marathon Cross (2500kms should be less than 25% of their expected minimum lifespan if they're anything like typical Marathon tyres), but more concerned about the quality of their puncture protection. One of those comments on the link referred to them being poor with goat-head thorns . You do want good protection from bindiis - the Marathon XR were excellent in this regard. I'd expect the Mondial to have similar durability.

As for width - I run 1.75 (44mm) Vittoria Randonneur Cross tyres in 55mm SKS mudguards normally, and used 2.00 (52mm) Marathon XRs for our outback tour. No real concerns - the 2.00 tyres were really too wide but.... meh! A 47mm tyre inside 50mm guards will be similar to my 52mm/55mm guards - in wet conditions it may throw a bit of spray or mud out the sides, no big deal.

However do beware of outback mud - wet red clay is a real trap. Do not try to ride it! Be willing to remove your guards if you do. Here's what my 52mm tyres in 55mm guards looked after the Mermerna mudbath between Hawker and the Flinders Ranges. I moved the mudguards as far away from the tyre as I could and removed the front guard..... later removed the rear as well for about 3-4 days, until we got back onto the regular gravel roads.

You would recall my one and only puncture on our Esperance to Perth tour on my Marathon Cross's caused by a sharp stone. I would suggest either going for the Mondials, or investing in slime, or perhaps upgrade to the Mondials and put slime into the extrawheel's tyre. Going on my experience of Marathon Cross vs Marathon Dureme. I found the cross's more stable in gravel or perhaps that was a speed difference as I was doing 20-30kph on my masi and 10-20kph on my Thorn. The cross rear tyre wear wouldn't see it surviving a 5000km trip. My Dureme's would survive a 8000km trip based upon rear tread wear of 1mm extra compared to the front over 1300km's

As per il Padrone, do not ride in mud! I took a wrong turn on the kep track and ended up hitting a section of track that was muddy. I managed to avoid it for most of the time but had to go in it Once out I spent the next few mins scraping the excess off. Once my dureme's wear out I will be considering the Mondial.

I replaced my Marathon XR with Marathon Dureme (28 x 2.0) on my front wheel (XR still on the rear). I rode the 900kms of the Mawson Trail and have ridden about 8,000 commuting kms on the Dureme this year - I find it an excellent tyre!

I am interested in buying some Schwalbe Mondial tyres.As they seem to be hard to get and transport quite dear, if bought in Germany, would you let me know if you are interested in combining an order.I am in Perth.

I am interested in buying some Schwalbe Mondial tyres.As they seem to be hard to get and transport quite dear, if bought in Germany, would you let me know if you are interested in combining an order.I am in Perth.

Cheers

Pity you didn't post before Monday as I placed an order then on http://Bike24.net. Sorry but doubt I will be doing another one for some time.

I am interested in buying some Schwalbe Mondial tyres.As they seem to be hard to get and transport quite dear, if bought in Germany, would you let me know if you are interested in combining an order.I am in Perth.

Cheers

Hey

I'm looking at a bike24 sometime in the next month, the question is can you wait.

I am planning a 6 week trip myself on my LHT 500-600 km of which is dirt so I need some wider tyres.That's why I am interested in what tyre with you went for on the Schwalbe Mondial, assuming that's what you bought.

Bike24 order is going this week, so make up your mind, I suggest the Mondial tho after I picked up a puncture from a stone on the Marathon Cross's. I have the dureme's currently and will be getting the Mondials myself to go on once the Dureme's wear out.

clog wrote:I am planning a 6 week trip myself on my LHT 500-600 km of which is dirt so I need some wider tyres.That's why I am interested in what tyre with you went for on the Schwalbe Mondial, assuming that's what you bought.

I have ordered the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Evolution Touring Folding Tire Dimension: 42-622 (28x1.60). Yet to determine if they will fit but.

Clog try ordering through wiggle.co.uk. Shipping to Australia is free if you spend over a certain (quite low amount) They are reliable. Although i don't recommend buying their clothing items unless you know the brand. I bought a thermal and it got eaten by moths which must have come from england cause nothing else i have here has been eaten by moths.

Aushiker, About this post on tyres. I am not quite sure where this dreaming tour is going but if you've only used 1500km on your current tyres and your next tour is only 5000km then your existing set of tyres should be fine.

I've got a set of marathons on, not xr, just plain marathons. I've done at least 9000km and of those at least 3000 on very rough roads with sharp stones. I cut the tires up quite a bit on the last trip so it might be risky to take them on further in a remote area but they still got quite a bit of tread left.

I don't know anything about marathon crosses though, but as said by another poster, they probably have heaps of life left in them. Maybe you can give them to me if you don't want them and i will take them on my trip to central australia in June. I'll pay the postage.

If you are just afraid of punctures, make sure your tires are well pumped. Take a little gauge so you know how hard they are. And check your tires every day for any stones and thorns half stuck in the tracks. On my last trip the one puncture i got was from not checking and you tend to pick up the thorns etc when you wheel/ride your bike off the side of the tar. The prickly things grow near the side of the road so that is where one should be careful.

It would be worth trying to learn if goathead thorns or any other type are typical along your route in advance. Some routes do not have any thorns. Slime makes your tyres heavier which might be ok on a short tour or in a race, but i wouldn't take that option on a long tour. Having to fix the odd puncture is not that terrible. There are many worse things.

Meditator wrote:Clog try ordering through wiggle.co.uk. Shipping to Australia is free if you spend over a certain (quite low amount) They are reliable. Although i don't recommend buying their clothing items unless you know the brand. I bought a thermal and it got eaten by moths which must have come from england cause nothing else i have here has been eaten by moths.

Meditator wrote:Aushiker, About this post on tyres. I am not quite sure where this dreaming tour is going but if you've only used 1500km on your current tyres and your next tour is only 5000km then your existing set of tyres should be fine.

The current tyres are really not suitable for my intended use; it is not just about distance, it is also about the road surfaces (dirt verus bitumen). Also the current tyres have started puncturing so not keen on taking them.

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